OK, I don’t really mean that literally. I just mean… well, maybe in-person communication isn’t such a bad thing sometimes. Or, failing that, I’ve heard wonderful things about this gadget called the telephone.
Context: I, like everyone else, have come to rely on automated systems and Digital 2.0 communication devices in my day-to-day working life. I absolutely adore CMS tools–always have, always will–and am perfectly happy to work for someone for years without ever meeting them. I prefer e-mail to phone conversations for the most part, and I always request e-mail over snail mail. (In fact, I have a deep and abiding hatred for the U.S. Postal Service. But that is not particularly relevant to this story.) I don’t use IM programs, but that’s only because I feel that IM chat is as big of a time-waster as regular conversation. Worse, because my godmother would never corner me by the water cooler (she’s in Honolulu; it’s physically impossible), but she definitely would if she saw me on Yahoo Messenger.
I know I’ve driven more than one person crazy with my reticence to attend networking events, “do lunch” or “take a meeting” when I feel it’s unnecessary. Why do lunch when you can figure everything out over the phone? Why take a meeting when the project is self-explanatory? These are my feelings. And they work for me. I’m a hired gun–I’m not supposed to be on the party circuit.
However. There are times when I feel like I’ve gone too deep into Digi 2.0 mode, and it’s not serving me or anyone else. And there are definitely also occasions when I feel that others have gone too far. Today, the juxtaposition of both situations has led me to make a rather unusual decision. I will let you know whether it works for me:
Part 1: Last week via e-mail, a colleague invited me to attend a three-day meeting. I went last year and got a lot out of it, so this time, I quickly sent her a response: “Sure, would love to.” Three days later, while in Jamaica, I get a crackly phone message from her telling me that she can’t sign me up for the event. I need to go online and register. She wants to know whether I’ve received her e-mail, stating the same.
Well, no, I haven’t. I’m in Jamaica, trekking around the Blue Mountains. I have neither time nor inclination to check my e-mail, much less mess around with online forms. So I wait a few days, return to civilization, and this p.m., I fill out the online form. When lo, it becomes clear that the hotel I need to stay at is not available, and the activities on the itinerary have very little to do with my needs. Hm.
I complete the form, get confirmation, e-mail back immediately asking if someone can help me with the hotel and itinerary issues. And immediately, I get bounced back to the same colleague who demanded that I online reg in the first place.
I am beginning to feel like a handball. And the colleague no doubt wishes I would stop being such a squeaky little handball. But. If I can’t get what I need out of this event, then there’s no reason for me to go. So. How ’bout a little human touch, people?
Part 2: I have a story due day after tomorrow. It won’t require much research, but I do need to speak with about a half-dozen different sources. Given that time is limited, I decided to send out an auto e-mail to all of them. I don’t know them all, but that is irrelevant. I’ll put in an eye-catching subject line. If they ignore it, that’ll be their loss, not mine.
But then I said… wait a minute. Yeah, these generic group e-mails work well when I’m dealing with 25 different sources. They’re great when I’m not sure who’s going to be able to help and who’s not. But when I’m dealing with five people who all know the subject matter intimately, and when every one of them could potentially improve the piece exponentially… why not take the time to send individual notes? It’s true, they need me more than I need them. But I do want them on my side. So… why not treat them like the precious jewels they are?
On a normal day, I might not have felt this way. But given the e-vite, e-mail, online reg, auto-response, e-mail cc shuffle that I just went through, I’m feeling like a little extra communication at the beginning goes a long way. At the very least, it saves you doing the exact same communication several days later.
…Or does it???
This entry was posted on Monday, November 19th, 2007 at 5:53 pm and is filed under Strategery, Laptop Meditations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.Leave a Reply
